BIRDS OF PEASEMARSH 



when it is too late we shall awake to the fact 

 that there are no more fork-tailed Barn 

 Swallows. 



Often these birds search out some old desert- 

 ed house or barn and there build their nests. 

 This is for safety rather than from preference, 

 for they seem to be naturally sociable 

 creatures. Through sad experiences they have 

 learned that in occupied buildings they are not 

 always unmolested. 



The farther away the Swallows are driven 

 the more flies there will be about the buildings. 

 Anyone who has the slightest doubt that they 

 are the best fly catchers should watch them 

 when they are feeding their young. Back and 

 forth they flit, catching flies to fill the open 

 mouths. Each day they are bringing comfort 

 to the four-legged creatures of the barn yard. 



In the old horse stable here we have had, for 

 many years, a Barn Swallow's nest plastered 

 on the side of one of the beams. Other pairs 

 nest about the old sheds, but this pair have 

 clung to their nest in the horse stable. Each 

 year they have hatched twice. Last year they 

 brought out the first family in safety, and it 

 was a family any Barn Swallow might well be 



[32] 



